I have been working on my basement & have 4 bags of garbage to put out & 3 bags for Goodwill & broke down a bunch of boxes for recycling that I put out yesterday. So making progress down there.

My laundry is caught up & as I mentioned, I use 2 laundry baskets (1 for dark & 1 for whites) and when 1 is full put on a load. I do towels/linens Sunday a.m. By doing this I find I can keep up.

Also, make shopping list & "shop" in pantry/cupboards first & find I am eating though stuff I have on hand instead of buying more.

Another thing that has helped me is to spend a few minutes each night preparing for next day. This has save me alot of time in the a.m. and can
actually get some housework done before leaving the house.

I love when we post tips on how we do things...laundry, etc. It's so helpful to hear how someone else does something! Thx!

I have been keeping up with my daily chores. credit. I like how my organized home feels.

This morning I had some time and just went with the flow. I needed to knock out the carpet in the pet/laundry room so I did it first thing. If I do my most procrastinated project first then it goes away and I find it motivates me to accomplish something else. Yay!

Afterwards, I started picking up/decluttering and I ended up in my personal closet. I went through all my hanging clothes again and separated 15-20 items for thrift. By doing quick try ons I was able to discard a few extras even though they fit. I looked in the mirror and several items just didn't suit me anymore. Today I was also ready to let go of some emotionally attached items I have been hanging onto "just because". A tailor made dress...a gift from my brother, several pendleton shirts which belonged to my father....etc. After I finished sorting I had space to hang some shirts from a drawer which left more room in the drawer and made some nice cotton shirts more available.

I noticed a box which had some antique "stuff"...not valuable. I took the entire box downstairs for thrift.

When I let go and give some nice items to thrift someone else receives benefit. That's the beauty of letting go.

I just moved the last box out of the dining room. Box mountain is no more. Wow. I totally dealt with 10 boxes--emptied them, sorted and placed them, and will now break them down to bring with us to Ottawa tomorrow for my mother's move over to here the day after. So, they get re-used right away. Yay. I placed 6 boxes into the bedroom closet and two underneath a desk in there. Temporary but out of the way for now. I have one for donations and I have two baskets of clean and folded laundry with no where to put them. Wow again. I need to go through my clothes and get rid of the excess. I can also hang stuff up, which is not being done, and that will help but I have zero room for sheets and towels so a culling of these will need to happen too... but not for a few days. My sister should be landing right about now and we'll be seeing her after she checks in at the hotel. Mercifully, she is not staying here. It did get me back on track with the cleaning though and some things have been spruced up, but not enough for an overnight guest. But my sister has promised to help me sort this place out and I know she can do that and I welcome it.

The only things left for me to do today are to break the boxes down, and to place together the stuff that is to go to the studio - about 4 boxes and a few bags.

I also need to clear off the living room coffee table and clean out beneath it and around it, and then sweep the floor once more. I may quickly damp mop the bathroom floor too. This will all take less than an hour.

And that's that. I'll check in again after we've moved my mom on Friday.

I've been moving forward everyday just not finding internet time. I'm definitely in the "have to push forward" mode. I worked really hard last week accomplishing extra declutter/cleaning tasks before my live in contractors showed up today....now they're not coming. I was saving my bathrooms for last and yesterday I recognized something important for me:

My daily decluttering/cleaning is not for others' benefit; it is for me.

Important to recognize...I cleaned bathrooms and got myself back on my normal routine this morning. Whenever they finally decide to come I will be ready.

I still have this agitating project and I reminded myself that my baby steps would make things easier when we finally got to it. I motivated DH to go up yesterday and do some project decluttering....when he got agitated we stopped. 20 minutes later he was calm and I suggested we go move the two pieces of furniture that needed to go to make room for the electrician. At that point he was willing so it's done.

One day at a time here, I'm mapping out daily progress that we can accomplish so DH and I can be on the same page.

I'm so grateful I did some planning ahead....my contractor called and Rick will be coming tomorrow...arriving while I am at work.
Thank goodness for clean bathrooms and meals precooked and frozen.
I can relax tonight instead of panicking.

Box mountain remains in the past (yay) as does the visit of my sister and the move of my mother to a place nearby. I slept about 16 hours yesterday in the aftermath of what was a very difficult 8 days + 1 week before the 8 days moving odyssey.

Ny sister stayed in my place for a couple of nights. She commented that my apartment is "an order of magnitude in much better shape than any other place I have ever had" and she said she could see I had been working very hard on my clutter/cleaning issues.

You guys know I have but at times I have wondered if I have, so it's good to get some objective eyes on the state of my affairs.

She has some ideas on how to make my kitchen more funtional and I'm planning on making a start toward that goal this month. She will be back to check in on my mom in about 4 weeks and will stay with us. It makes me happy that I can provide a restful space for visitors.

Tomorrow my close friend Tim comes to visit for the night. We are taking our art show down and he will pack his work, and mine, up and re-install it at a gallery in Ottawa. So I get a bonus showing! Again I am glad to have a space for visitors. Even my mom was by and found my couch so comfy she took a nap. It's all good. And it can be better. I am focused on that.

onebyone, how wonderful that you have evidence that you made changes and improvements. That's got to feel so great!

Today was picture hanging day at our house. Four framed pictures that had never made it on the wall are now up in our bedroom. Two George O'Keefe prints that were in the bedroom are where I wanted them in the living room. (The big Cezanne thing is not where it newly belongs yet--we had to buy sturdier hooks for it since one broke taking it down)

There are two new things hanging in the living. The framed tapestry of the Myajima torii gate that I bought in Japan is now hanging in my office. The two glass Tiffany Stained Glass reproductions that were in the basement in boxes are now on easels in the living room. Two watercolors that I bought in Florence over 20 years ago are now hanging in the bedroom.

I feel pretty good about how much stuff is now out where I can see and enjoy it. DH helped with a lot of it, although he did not understand why I wanted to move the Cezanne or the O'Keefe prints. I'm thrilled with the new look though!

Oh--and I bought 3 of the 4 curtain rods I need for window treatments for the living room and dining room. We've been in this house 6 years. About time. (I'm ordering the 4th one on line--Lowe's only had 1 of that size)

I'm on the run...headed to Denver but wanted to check in. I'm staying really functional and enjoying the results. It's so busy right now and I know for me that my success staying OP with food has been the result of staying caught up with my chores/decluttering.

I have so much going on right now. I have the renovation. I have to work at my "real" job. My mom has multiple dr. appts. for an upcoming surgery. Our first hard freeze is coming soon.

Monday night DH and I sat down and decided he had to travel to our other home and winterize. Friday night would be the freeze that could possibly break the pipes and cause flooding. I had to work and I had the "feeling" that the wife of our reno team was going to show up soon.

We went to bed early. We got up early.

We sat and discussed how we'd implement our plan. Before I went to work at 7 I tackled all the chores at home. DH hit the road as I left for work.

What I noticed consistently as I moved forward yesterday morning was that all the decluttering/organizing I have accomplished in the past two years has effectively set us up to live our "real life".

This plan we made on such short notice was made so much easier because the junk is gone and the organization of what's left has happened.
~the car was already gassed
~DH had left his sunglasses at the project but there was a spare in the glove box.
~we needed a new insurance card but I knew exactly where to find it.
~my clothes were clean for work
~I remembered to pay the water bill (last day)
~I had time to do some clean up at home
~I had time to go up to the project and haul two trash cans to the curb

It all happened and DH and I didn't get stressed. We just got to the task.

The miracle was my DH showing up at my work....returning from a safe 250 mile RT. Summer home winterized. I found out my contractor had traveled, too, and was in fact, showing up at the project later. We were ready.

So: today despite continuing project and having to leave the house at 730 to travel w/mom to a pre surgery appt I am doing my chores
~stripped the bed and am washing in stages
~pay bills before leaving
~find time to exercise

When I went downstairs the washer wasn't quite finished. Instead of watching and waiting for the cycle to complete I changed the cat's water dish, I opened a new 10 pack of natural diet sodas and put them in the fridge and I pulled out all the (clean) veggies/fruits to prep our morning smoothie.
I used to just stand and stare at the spin cycle.
I get so much accomplished in those short moments. It's probably my most effective home strategy right now.

I'm grateful for this continuing thread and for the new life I'm being given as a result of continued decluttering. I have stopped bring home new stuff. I'm content with what I have left.

Sometimes I ask myself...what do I miss of all the countless boxes of "stuff" I have hauled out of this house? I used to think I couldn't live without all of it.
The one thing I can really think of is an antique brooch given to me by a dear friend. It accidentally went out on a piece of clothing I sent to thrift. It hurt at the time but now I've found acceptance. Everything else I let go of was really ok. There was a time when I thought I couldn't live without this stuff but today it's all ok.

I truly enjoyed my "yesterday" full of responsibility and function. I'm planning for another one today.

Our contractors left yesterday and it was a whirlwind trying to finish up this phase of the project. I spent the day multitasking...up and down the stairs in the backyard. I noticed I automatically cleaned and organized at the project before locking up and we made a giant dump run which took rubble from the project AND every other misc. clutter in the yard. credit.

I decided NOT to touch the house last night. IT was a busy day AND I had coffee stuff strewn all over because our coffeemaker quit and I had all the alternates on the counter.

This morning I started in the kitchen...and have worked my way up....decluttering as I go. I had some minor food indisgressions this past week and as I recommitted to my food this morning I recommitted to my home, as well.

My thought this morning was about Routine. We all have different lives and different routines. My key to success is an established everyday routine which factors in "my life".

Lexxiss kudos for your continuing success(es) on all fronts! I am continuously impressed by how much you manage to get done on a day to day basis.

bethfromdayton I totally get hanging and moving artwork around. I also have a DH who will help me do it but may not know why. Very thrilled that you can now enjoy your previously boxed up artworks as well.

I too am moving forward with the decluttering. After my visit with my friend I have a clearer idea of what I need in my studio to make it function properly. The two hallway half-shelves that are paired with a set of drawers and a desk will be traveling to my studio, probably next week via a work friend of DH's with a truck. These units are full to the brim right now, but I can sort through it and make decisions as I go. The space created by removing the units will allow DH to move his comic book/boxes collection into it and he thinks he can also place a couple of shelves, thereby freeing up the back bedroom enough that we actually have a spare room for guests to sleep in. Now that my mom lives nearby my sister from Key West will be up a few times a year so it would be great to offer her a place to sleep with a door. A little privacy is really needed when traveling.

The dining room floor is covered with stuff from my mom's move so I think I'll put that away today. It's been almost 2 weeks now since she moved into her new place.

I have not managed to get much done on my larger decluttering projects but have created a master list again which serves me well. Today I will focus on clearing away the stuff on the floor of the dining room and will check in with my progress in an hour. Bye for now.

UPDATE: floor is cleared in the dining room--the central part anyway. Took approx. 30min.

Jumping in here with my fall goals. My first floor is clean and decluttering but now I am starting on attic and 2nd bedroom. This area is a catch all. I needed to come on here and declare "I HAVE TO THROW THINGS OUT. If I want a functional clean space with purpose things have to go. My upper part of my house is overweight. It just is.

Wondering what do you tell yourself to let things go that you think you need or might use again. We have enough, we really do and I just keep storing stuff for a rainy day that never comes.

Basement flooded on Monday and I was so grateful that the only boxes in there were rubbermaid and could be moved. They fixed the outside sewer pipe to a tune of $4500 our bill. It had collapsed and fell apart. Going thru some medical tests and seeing the importance of having superfoods in my diet. Upping my veggies and thinking of getting a Vitamix to juice for health and the energy benefits.

Great to see you here Tami (helpingRachel)! Regarding letting go of items I "might need" later....
I have given myself permission to reacquire anything that I have let go of IF I find out down the road that I really need/want that item again. So far it hasn't happened AND I feel comfortable (looking back) on all I've let go of.

I've been making the extra effort to stay organized with all the projects continuing. I find myself whizzing through my chores in the morning before leaving so I can come home to a sanctuary.

Tonight, even though it was past dinner time, I went ahead and cleaned up after myself as I went through the process of cooking dinner. I find if I wash all my knives/pans right away it takes 5 minutes. If I let them sit overnight they take 15.

Thanks for the insights. I love your routine, Lexxiss. As I was sitting at the Doctor office this week, I realized I want a decluttered organized home in all areas. I filled 2 goodwill boxes and a 5 gallon trash can. Truth is I wouldn't buy the stuff I am giving away. I really think I have some hoarding tendencies and yet some rooms are spotless and everything has a home. Baby steps and following a plan. My thyroid tanked so I need to change my health using my fork and eating many more veggie which I really do love. Blessings on all your projects.